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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23469376">And they were quarantined</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crankyhistorian/pseuds/Writingtragedy'>Writingtragedy (Crankyhistorian)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Percy Jackson and the Olympians &amp; Related Fandoms - All Media Types, The Heroes of Olympus - Rick Riordan</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>College, College Student Nico di Angelo, Italian Nico di Angelo, Law student Nico, Long-Distance Relationship, Long-Distance relationship but not for too long, M/M, Medstudent Will, Nico has two roommates, Quarantine, Soft Boyfriends Nico di Angelo and Will Solace, this is how I choose to cope</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-03</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-08</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-01 05:54:00</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>8</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>16,899</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23469376</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Crankyhistorian/pseuds/Writingtragedy</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>` I´ll be home soon. Please tell me the house is still standing and you guys cleaned up`<br/>Gio: `In my defense Fabio had a very compelling argument`</p><p>Fabio:`Yeah but you spilled it everywhere. Do you have hoes in your hands that everything falls down once you pick it up??!`</p><p>Though the argument was slightly concerning Nico knew on what he needed to focus on.<br/>Nico: `Lol hoes`<br/>He texted and turned his phone off to pay for his groceries and return home. </p><p> </p><p>Nico and Will are navigating their relationship while trying to deal with a global pandemic. Nico moved to Italy to pursue his law degree in Milan and Will stayed in America to study Medicine.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Annabeth Chase/Percy Jackson, Calypso/Leo Valdez, Hazel Levesque/Frank Zhang, Jason Grace/Piper McLean, Nico di Angelo/Will Solace</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>18</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>62</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Hey, this idea has been sitting in my head ever since I've been in quarantine. Please understand that I do not live in Italy so I am not completely aware of how restricted their lives truly are, this is just something I came up with to cope with my own isolation.</p><p>In this story Will is 22 and Nico 21 both are studying in University, while Nico moved to Italy Will stayed behind in America. They've been in a relationship for 7 years.</p><p>I´m not exactly sure where I'm going with this story yet but I needed to share it with people so if you have any suggestions on what should happen next or what i should work on please leave a comment it would make my day. Also if you're lonely and stuck at home message me! I´m in dire need of social interaction</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nico sighed as he heard a loud crash and cursing from the kitchen as he debated if he should get up and save whatever is left of their food or not. A few weeks ago no one would let Gio into the kitchen if it wasn´t for emergencies but the quarantine changed everyones priorities and if Gio burning all their food meant that Nico could leave his apartement and go outside to get groceries he´s all for it.</p><p>Nico would kill for some fresh air and exercise outside after having spent the past month confined in his shared apartement, slowly loosing his sanity. He sat up from his bed listening to more curses coming from the kitchen and debated whether he should go out and help the unfortunate soul that is Gio or stay in his room and continue watching Transformers, a classic according to Percy. He decided to get up.</p><p>Ever since the government announced that most of Northern Italy would be under lockdown his entire neighbourhood has gone nuts, his roomates included which is why he walked in on Gio and his Lasagna that was spilled all over the floor.</p><p>„This is it. I´ve had enough. I followed the recipe to the exact measurements but the pasta god has abandoned me. Nico, take me out. I deserve it.“ Gio wailed and threw his hands in the air pulling a face that mildly resembled someone suffering from explosive diarrhea. Nico only shook his head as he went to grab a bucket and mob to clean up the mess.<br/>
„The pasta god was never with you to begin with. Remember that time you mixed up powdered sugar and flour? Weirdest shit I´ve ever eaten. At least now we can tell Fabio that we have a reason to leave the house.“ He grinned and stuck his tongue out as Gio gently punched him for his comment.</p><p>„It´s not my fault powdered sugar looks the same as flour!“<br/>
„It literally does not.“<br/>
„It does.“<br/>
"It does not."<br/>
"It does."<br/>
„It does not-“<br/>
Nico stopped  his intelectually stimulating conversation as he heard the bathroom door open and Fabio stepped out. He had a towel around his waist and let the water from his wet hair drip onto the carpet.<br/>
„I heard a crash but didn´t want to come out. What happened?“ He flipped his brown hair back and leaned against the doorway to the kitchen effectively getting the water on all of their furniture. Nico huffed and threw a rag in his direction.</p><p>„Gio figured out that gravity exists and now we have more work and no dinner.“ Fabio rolled his eyes clearly not being bothered by the puddle of water he´s leaving on the floor.<br/>
„I can go out and get us something from the grocery store?“ Fabio offered.</p><p>Oh Hades no. Nico is not letting his one oppurtunity to leave the house go to waste.<br/>
„Don´t worry about it. I was about to go out anyway“, he quickly stood up leaving the bucket with lasagna next to Gio and turned to Fabio with a grin on his face,“You guys have to clean up anyway. I´ll be back before you know it.“<br/>
Proud of himself he left Gio in his own lasagna misery and Fabio debating whether or not he should dry the floor with the towel around his waist, before he walked out.</p><p> </p><p>Nico took in a long deep breathe as he felt the warm italian sun on his skin as he stepped out of the apartement complex. Normally there would be kids playing outside, people talking, yelling, getting in and out of cars but now the entire neighborhoud was quiet. Nico never thought he´d say it but he missed all of the noise, the streets felt alive then, now it´s just bleak and cloudy.<br/>
If only the weather could play along and be more appropriate to the current situation. It was early spring so the weather changed quickly but it had been beautifully sunny ever since the quarantine started. He felt as if Apollo tried to lighten the mood with the sunshine but it only resulted in the quarantine being even more unbearable than it already was.</p><p>Nico started walking the familiar way to the supermarket meeting a few officers on his way whom he showed his permission slip to leave the house. As he passed the closed mall and empty metro station he couldn´t help but think of Will.<br/>
Will loved listening to him talk and explain how life has changed ever since the pandemic hit Italy.<br/>
Not that Will thought the pandemic was great but the life of Italians changed drastically and Will as a naturally curious person didn´t hold back on his questions about life in quarantine.<br/>
Nico couldn´t help the involuntary smile that crept up as he started thinking about Will. He missed him more and more with each passing day.</p><p> Ever since his decision to move to Italy for his University degree Will has been nothing but supportive. They had a designated time during which they would facetime and talk about their day, keeping each other in the loop and sometimes just doing the dishes or writing an essay while the other kept them company. Nico liked this arrangement they had but he couldn´t wait to see Will face to face and finally be able to touch him and express his love to him in a way that words cannot. Over the years both of them changed. </p><p>Will grew taller standing at 6´0 he gained muscle and got tanner which made his blue eyes stand out more. He kept his hair the same as all those years ago. Nico loved running his fingers through his curly hair, massaging Wills head until he nearly falls asleep on him. Nico has changed a lot too. He hit a growth spurt once he hit 16 and is now 5´9 and thoroughly pleased with his height. He also gained a lot of muscles while also staying fairly lean which landed Nico a couple modelling jobs here and there. He kept his hair a bit longer so it barely reached his shoulders this way he could tie it up into a fashionable man bun which Percy unironically called the epitome of manliness. He looked healthy his skin finally got its colour back and his hair shined with strength. Nico held himself with a confidence few men could muster, he was happy with himself and loved it. </p><p>But maybe the most prominent change is his behaviour. The more he grew in self-confidence the more lighthearted he became. He saw the world through the eyes of someone who knows what its like to loose everything and still keep going, pushing through the darkness to reveal the light at the end that makes it all worth it. Nico looks at the world and the life he has build and knows that it was all worth it. As Nico got more confident in himself he allowed himself to enjoy life more and cherish the little things, like going out with his friends to the park or reading a book that seemed mildly interesting or even melting into the warm embrace of Will. The man who didn't give up on him, Will entered Nicos life and carefully tried to overcome the walls he has build and Nico let him. No-one comes close to Will, not even Percy. Wills cheerfulness and desire to always be there for the people he loved hasn't ceased at all in fact Nico would argue it grew over the years. </p><p> </p><p>Will always managed to touch Nico in some way, was it pat on the shoulder, a quick kiss on the cheek or if he laid on top of Nico not moving a muscle after a particularly stressful day.<br/>
He has gotten used to the random touches while in America and ever since he moved to Italy he felt more touch starved than ever. His friends were very touchy-feely as well, somehow always leaning or lying partially on top of Nico at any given time but it just didn´t feel the same. Will made Nico feel things nobody else could, one look into his skyblue eyes and Nico felt at home. Any burden that he ever carried dissapeared and every problem seemed solveable. To Nico Will felt like a miracle, a gift he couldn´t fathom he deserved. His own personal treasure that looked at Nico with the same adoration as he did. He was Nicos future.</p><p> </p><p>Nico snapped out of his daydream as he reached the supermarket, got a cart and lined up in the queue. Looking at the all the people in front of him he groaned quietly and got out his phone to distract himself. The phone was a gift from Hephaesteus himself for their help in saving Olympus. Hephaesteus vowed to provide every demigod child who passed the age of 16 with a mobile phone that didn´t attract monsters.</p><p>Nico loved having a phone even though when he first got it he managed to frustrate the entire Camp as they tried to explain to him every single app and their function but once he got the gist of it he couldn´t put it down. It got so bad that Jason threatened to confiscate it if he didn´t put it down during various camp activities.<br/>
He couldn´t help it! He loved being in the loop and knowing about every major world event as it was happening, he especially loved being able to voice his frustration on football matches and interact with other football fans. His american friends didn´t share his enthusiasm for the sport, except for Leo, but Nico didn´t care football is his passion.</p><p>As he checked his messages a new one popped up, Will sent him message.<br/>
`Skype date and wine in an hour? ;)`<br/>
`Should I stock up on wine? Currently at the supermarket might not make it on time , stuck in traffic :(` He texted back, it didn´t look like the queue would be moving anytime soon.<br/>
Nico groaned again as he saw an older woman furiously gesticulating at the security guard of the supermarket who didn´t even bother calming the woman down and instead said something into his walkie-talkie. Shortly after another security guard with a bright orange warning vest pulled the hysterical woman aside and the queue started moving. Finally!</p><p>As he stepped inside the supermarket he quickly navigated the numerous isles, grabbing what he did and didn´t need and gawking at the empty shelves that decorated the isles. Why people are stockpiling a month into a nationwide lockdown when the supermarket has been able to provide their customers with everything that they needed the entire time, continued to be a mystery to him.<br/>
Thankfully Fabios older sister worked at the supermarket and always set some of the most desirable items for them aside so they didn´t have to worry about leaving empty handed. Nico was just browsing the alcohol isle when his phone vibrated with a new message from Will.</p><p>`Aww that sucks :( Text me when you can skype I have great news I need to tell u &lt;3`<br/>
He raised his brow normally Will would tell him good and bad news on the spot, because he couldn´t  wait until they see each other as it took too long but this time he must have some truly special news.<br/>
Still wondering what Nico meant when he said good news Nico queued up in front of the register and sent a text message into his group chat with Gio and Fabio.</p><p>` I´ll be home soon. Please tell me the house is still standing and you guys cleaned up`<br/>
Gio: `In my defense Fabio had a very compelling argument`</p><p>Fabio:`Yeah but you spilled it everywhere. Do you have hoes in your hands that everything falls down once you pick it up??!`</p><p>Though the argument was slightly concerning Nico knew on what he needed to focus on.<br/>
Nico: `Lol hoes`<br/>
He texted and turned his phone off to pay for his groceries and return home.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 2</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Will tells Nico the good news and Nico is just a bit overwhelmed.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Hey guys, I know it's barely been 24 hours but I will update as I want so it could be that you'll get the new chapter tomorrow already or maybe in a week idk. </p><p>Well anyway enjoy this chapter! Please comment on what you think it would mean a lot, also if you're bored just hmu I need human interaction lol</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After returnung home Nico found out that the argument Gio and Fabio had in the groupchat was about Gio bumping into an old ceramic bowl that they got from Fabios mother as a housewarming gift. <br/>Nico was glad it shattered, it didn´t necessarily fit the aesthetic of three barely functioning university students living in a cramped apartment together.</p><p>Truth be told that ceramic bowl was the only piece of decoration that they owned, their apartment was not very well taken care off, the walls used to be white but over time turned into a suspicious gray colour not to mention all the alcohol stains from the parties that they have held. </p><p>Their apartment only had two bedrooms with Nico having the smaller one in which he could stay alone and Gio and Fabio sharing the larger bedroom. The living room connected to the kitchen and had barely enough space to put a coffee table between the TV and their couch, thankfully they had a large window in the living room which gave the illusion of the apartment being bigger than it actually is. Between Nicos room and their kitchen was a tiny bathroom which had barely enough space to fit a shower, a toilet and a sink, the disgustingly green tiles and the bad yellow light from the single lightbulb that hung in the bathroom made it look like the setting of a bad high school horror movie but it was enough to survive and cover their most basic needs. Not to mention the cheap rent which put everything into perspective.</p><p>Rent cost a lot considering that this was Milan but they were close enough to the University that they didn´t have to use the crowded metro and instead ride a bike, so they made it work. And eventhough Hades offered Nico numerous amount of times money to find a better apartment he refused and instead found himself a job as a waiter in the center of the city. The restaurant paid well and if he worked on the weeked the tips from the tourists allowed him to spend a little more money on food or alcohol. All in all Nico was content. It wasn´t a life of luxury which he was leading but that was never his goal instead he found a comfortable space with people he could tolerate on a daily basis and they made it work.</p><p> </p><p>Nico met Fabio first while on an orientation tour around campus and found out that he was looking for one more roomate for his apartment which he already shared with another guy. Since Fabio turned out to have a lot in common with Nico and managed to carry the conversation quite well Nico agreed to visit the apartment and consider the option of moving in with him. During the visit he met the ever clumsy veterinary student Gio who, he realized, shared his twisted sense of humour and passion for spontaneous club visits and since the rent was affordable with the waiter job he had and the apartment was very close to the University he agreed to stay. <br/>And ever since then Nico would consider the two his friends, of course they didn´t know about Nicos actual background but they also didn´t seem to care which he was grateful for. <br/>They do know about Bianca though which he accidentally told them about while they were drowning their feelings about the upcoming exams in cheap alcohol and sharing their lifes tragedies. Gio burst out crying next to him while he explained and Fabio downed the rest of the vodka which they had. All in all they were extremly helpful and chill about his upbringing which he was grateful for.</p><p> </p><p>Nico entered the kitchen on the lookout for something he could snack on while skyping with Will when he stumbled onto a distraught looking Fabio in front of his laptop.</p><p>„What happened to you?“ Nico asked.<br/>„Apparently, I had an essay due two hours ago which I didn´t know about but I managed to get my due date extended cause I lied and said I was helping out in the hospital today.“ Fabio buried his face in his hands and breathed heavily. Nicos expression softened and he leaned onto the kitchen table which Fabio was working on. The med student looked like he was on the verge of a nervous breakdown.<br/>„Ok, listen you have been pulling extra shifts at the clinic for the past two weeks and barely got home. Of course something like this would slip your mind,“ Fabio looked up at Nico and leaned back into his chair turning his face away, seeing the logic but still being dissapointed in himself, “ You have done so much for this country working on extra shifts at the hospital with no break. This is more important than some stupid essay about the importance of hulahoopimg at midnight.“</p><p>Fabio snorted :“It´s actually about the effects of radioactive treatment on cancer patients.“</p><p>„Do I look like I care? You have been living in the hospital for the past two weeks helping out where you can and in times like these you need to make priorities. Now pull up your E-mail and write to your professor that you are unable to finish the essay as you are too busy saving lives at the hospital and if he starts complaing just report this to the school board and threaten to make it public. The media will eat this up, trust me.“ Nico smugly raised his eyebrow and grabbed the chips that lay next Fabio. <br/>„Thanks, I needed this.“ He sighed happily and closed his laptop.<br/>„I know you did. Now do me a favour and tell Gio to stay away from my room because I will call Will now.“ <br/>„Sure, no problem. Tell him I said hi.“ Fabio replied as Nico left the kitchen with his chips and a wine bottle in hand, no glass.</p><p>Wills Skype icon was already green when Nico entered his room, placed the chips and wine on his night stand and flung himself into bed. Will picked up on the first ring and grinned at him with his brilliant smile that rivaled the sun. The camera took a second to adjust before Will started talking.<br/>„Hey, love. How was your day?“</p><p>„Oh you know the usual. I got to go outside today which was nice but I´m more interested in what you wanted to tell me. So, spill it!“ Nico moved his laptop from his nightstand onto his lap and grabbed the chips, looking expectantly at Will.</p><p>„Yeah, yeah, honestly I still can´t believe it to be honest, but you know how my University has started this aid program for Italy and Spain, right?“ Nico looked up, shifting his full attention to what Will was telling him.</p><p>„Yeah, I know. You have donated masks and other supplies, right?.“</p><p>„Yes, right. Well, today they announced that they would be sending medical professionals along with the new supplies and since I´ve been doing great in med school and at the hospital I´ve applied to fly to Italy. My chances are looking pretty good especially since I know you and I would have a temporary place to crash once I get there before the hotels open.“ </p><p>Nico paused, a million thoughts running through his mind this was definitevly not what he was expecting when Will told him he had great news. Where did he even begin? How did he feel about this? Was he happy? Worried? He couldn´t place his feelings.</p><p>„Wait, what do you mean you´re coming over? Don´t you know how dangerous it is to be here right now? You could get infected!“ Nico paused once more and tried to gather his thoughts as Will stayed silent.</p><p>„Don´t get me wrong I would love to have you here but the things that Fabio tells me are horrifying. The conditions in which the medical staff have to work in is beyond hazardous. You could really be putting your life on the line for this, tesoro.“ <br/>Nico looked worrily at him, the bag of chips laid discarded next to him as he nervously tugged at his bedsheets. He didn´t want to oppose Will or make him angry but the situation in Italy really isn´t to be taken lightly and whilst he is very grateful for all the help they are getting he knows that a substantial amount of medical staff won´t make it through the pandemic due to the conditions they have to work in. He didn´t want Will to risk his life like that. Not when he was this close to garduating medical school early and starting his residency.<br/>Will sighed and leaned his head to the side a sad smile grazed his lips.</p><p>„Oh darling, I love you so much,“ Nico gasped at the unexpected love confession,“ I would never get angry at you for worrying about me. I know that the situation doesn´t look good. <br/>No, what am I saying, it´s bad, it´s very bad! <br/>You don´t even know with what horror we´re following the spread of the infection here and because of that I can´t possibly stay behind while the opportunity to help is laid out in front of me. <br/>This is who I am, Nico, a healer. Someone who helps others. I could not, with a good conscience stay behind while knowing that there are people I could help.“ <br/>Will looked at Nico with such an urgent and determined expression that Nico knew this has already been decided and there was no use debating this but he still had one question left.<br/>„But this virus is spreading in the US, too. The people will need your help there, too. Why would you want to come to Italy?“<br/>Will raised an eyebrow with an almost incrediulous expression on his face. How could Nico not know? He let out a chuckle.<br/>„You´re still asking? Because you are in Italy, darling! How can I not take the chance to fly to Italy for free, help people in need and at the same time be close to you? This was the easiest decision I have ever made.“ Nico couldn´t help but stare wordlessly at this selfish and selfless man before him. How lucky was Nico to be loved like this?<br/>„You, cheesy sap,“ Nico grinned entirely overwhelmed with the situation,“ Ok, listen I have an entire litre of the cheapest wine I could find at Lidl and you will tell me everything that has happened and that will happen in the next few days. I need all the details!“ He announced as he started to wrestle with the corkscrew to open the wine as Will started to explain what will happen next. With the wine finally open Nico snuggled into his bed and listened to Will as he described the huge amount of documents he has to sign in order to take part in the aid programme and as he explained Nico couldn´t help but imagine Will laying next to him and telling Nico all of this in person. Oh, he couldn´t wait.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 3</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Will reminisces the day Nico left for Italy</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ok so first off a little warning I wrote the first half of this chapter while wine drunk so if anything feels weird its probably because of that.<br/>Secondly, Thank you so much for all the kudos, subscriptions, bookmarks and the comment. They made me so giddy and happy. I'm glad you guys like this story I hope it lives up to your expectations.</p><p>And without further ado here's chapter three!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Will closed his laptop and laid down on his bed letting the past few hours go through his mind.<br/>When the doctor, whom he was shadowing forwarded the email to him saying that he mentioned Will as a good candidate for the aid program he was extatic and couldn´t believe his luck. The more he found out about the aid programme the happier he got. This combined everything he wanted, helping people, being at the forefront of the pandemic, going to Italy for free and of course Nico.<br/>He can´t deny, he was dissapointed when Nico said he wanted to study in Italy but he knew how much the country meant to him and understood that having to study in English while your native language is Italian is a lot to ask of him. At the end of the day: Who was Will to take away this opportunity from Nico? </p><p>Nico looked so excited once he found out he was accepted, he spent the entire night telling Will about the history of the school and what it meant to study there. He pulled out pictures which showed remarkable architecture that would make Annabeth jealous and explained the different opportunities studying in Milan would give Nico. How could Will ask Nico to stay when Nico was already miles away in Milan daydreaming about strolling through the city center, admiring the architecture, eating at world famous restaurants, revisting Venice.</p><p>Will coudn´t ask him to stay. He knew Nico would decline the school and find someething in America if Will asked but he couldn´t be this selfish. This was about Nicos happiness, too and he could shadowtravel to America on the weekends and during the holidays anyways so it wouldn´t be too bad. Hephaesteus was also constanly working on new technology that would help demigods stay undetected. So Nico and Will could Skype each other whenever they wanted. </p><p> </p><p>On the actual day of Nicos departure, half of the Camp showed up at the airport to bid Nico goodbye and wish him goodluck. He amassed a lot of friends throughout the years both at Camp and in New Rome so the sheer number of people who came were no surprise. It was still hard to say goodbye with all his friends around for support. The moment felt bittersweet, Nico was following his dreams but moving away from him.</p><p> </p><p>„Only for a short time, tesoro,“ Nico told him their last night in bed while Will pulled him into his chest squeezing tightly knowing he won´t be able to do that for a while,“ I´ll be back before you know it. Once I figure everything out with my University I´ll shadowtravel and tell you everything, okay?“ <br/>And in that moment Nico cradled Wills head so gently in his hands and stared into his eyes with such raw love and admiration that Will knew everything will turn out fine. He sighed and leaned down to kiss Nico, reveling in the feeling of Nicos lips aganst his own. Their kisses were long and deep, full of need and desire. Their hands exploring each others bodies like their first night alone, trying to take in as much detail as they can. They were drowning in each other, searcing for love and comfort marking each other with rough kisses, not wanting the night to end.</p><p> </p><p>The next morning Will woke up early to admire Nicos face while he slept. The rays of sunshine pooling into their bedroom, and painting everything into a soothing golden light. Will thought of his father. Maybe he wanted offer him some comfort? His eyes turned back to look at Nico as he lay there peacefully. His chest rising slightly as he breathed, a couple of hair strands fell in front of his face and Will pulled them back. Nico had a small smile on his face as if he knew that Will has been observing him. His long dark eyelashes fluttered and he mumbled something. Will stiffened he didn´t want to wake him up he still had something planned for the both of them in the morning. Slowly he started moving to the edge of their bed he turned around one last time checking to see if Nico was really asleep before slipping out of bed and quietly walking to the kitchen. <br/>They installed the kitchen in the Hades Cabin in the summer after the battle with Gaea, after Nicos mandatory three day stay in the infirmary. During those three days they got to know each other better and after the second day in which Will fell asleep leaned onto Nicos bed and confessed that he couldn´t sleep when he didn´t know if Nico was safe they continued to sleep close to each other. Nico found it odd as they didn´t know each other that well but Will attached to people quickly and Nico managed to worm himself into the deepest part of Wills heart without him even knowing of it. And over time with a lot of persistence from Wills side, Nico began to trust Will and before he knew what was happening a life without Will seemed not worth it. How could it? Life was better with his own personal sunshine around. </p><p> </p><p>Will began pulling out various pots and pans, mixing eggs and flours in one pot and cooking up sausages in the other, while also preparing the Italian coffee Nico liked to drink. It was a lot of work and Will had to concentrate as to not burn or spill everything, so he jumped when a pair of strong arms curled around his waist and Nicos face pressed against his back. He could feel Nico sighing and turned around to look at him admiring his furious bedhead.<br/>„Morning sleepyhead. I made breakfast.“ He smiled and pressed their foreheads against each other. Nico tugged at Wills hoodie which Will put on before going to the kitchen.<br/>„You cold, darling?“ Will asked stroking lovingly through his hair trying to pat it down.<br/>„No, but I want to wear this when I leave. It smells like you.“ <br/>Will felt tears prickling in his eyes and turned away, not wanting Nico to see him cry. He tried so hard to hold it in as he didn´t want to ruin Nicos happiness but he knew today was going to be a challenge. <br/>„Hey, tesoro, look at me. This will go by quicker than you thing and once University starts for both of us we´ll both be too busy to be sad, yeah?“ <br/>„Yeah, I know, you´re right. It´s just I´ve had you for so long it will be tough to share you and not have you around everyday. You are such a constant in my life Nico di Angelo I´m afraid I´ll forget how to breathe once you leave.“ He confessed and watched as Nico scrunched up his nose when he smiled.</p><p>„You, cheesy dork, are unbelieveable, you know that?“ Nico grabbed Will by his waist and spun him around quickly grabbing the whisk from Wills hand and the spatula that lay next to the stove.<br/>„Here let me finish this before it gets burned.“<br/>„No, stop that, death boy. I wanted to surprise you with a romantic breakfast.“ <br/>Will struggled as Nico skillfully kept him away from the stove and pushed him in the direction of the kitchen table.<br/>“It´s my last day here too, maybe I want to do something nice for you, too?“</p><p>Seeing that he will not give up so easily Will moved down to the kitchen table and started putting plates and decorations on it. While Nico may have ruined his cooking surprise Will will be damned if he can´t be at least a little bit romantic and make their breakfast table look nice. As he finished putting the cutlery next to the plates Nico brought the food, ranging from eggs and sausages all the way to waffles. It smelled amazing Will couldn´t wait to eat. <br/>He glanced at Nico who was still in his boxers shorts and one of Wills random Tshirts from The Chair, where they pile all their used but not dirty clothes on. Somehow in the bitterweet melancholy of the day with the wonderful smell in the air and the early morning rays of sunshine which fell on Nico he looked etheral. Will couldn´t help but stare.<br/>„You look beautiful.“ Wills eyes shot up, he was supposed to compliment Nico not the other way around. Panicked, he tried to think of something to compliment Nico.<br/>„Your eyes are very,“ Will scrunched up his nose trying to find the right words to describe them,“ black.“ He groaned. How is he this bad at flirting? Nico snorted at the comment but reached across the table to grab Wills hand.<br/>„Thank you,“ Nico grinned and stuck his tongue out,“ Let´s eat, you can work on those compliments later.“ He grabbed a croissant and the jam jar and as Will watched Nico eat and talk about something he heard on the radio Will thought that he didn´t want him to leave just yet.</p><p> </p><p>A couple hours later Will, Nico and half of Camp Half Blood and New Rome found themselves in front of the airport cahttering and bumping into each other, requesting Nico to bring them back a souvenir and making him promise to talk regularly once he´s in Italy. Will stood a little bit to the side allowing the others to say goodbye. <br/>He skimmed the crowd and saw Jason and Piper who were in their dirty painting clothes, having just moved into their own apartment and fixing it up with the help of Leo and Calypso who walked around in their dirty work clothes most of the time anyway, standing to Nicos right and telling him something intently.<br/>Next he spotted Annabeth and Percy making their way through the crowd of people with Hazel and Frank right behind them. Nicos face lit up when he saw his sister. </p><p>Hazel and Frank took on more responsibility in New Rome and barely had time to visit anymore, constantly having to attend meetings and making sure the City survives until the sun rises the next morning, but they enjoyed it. Everything was running smoothly and New Rome thrived under the new leadership. Nico could spend hours praising Hazel. And Frank, having formed a close bond with the latter. Will stepped aside, letting the two siblings share a private moment and turned to Percy and Annabeth.</p><p>„So, this is it, huh? You sure the both of you don´t want to join us in New Rome?“ Percy gave him a lopsided grin and turned his attention back to Nico who was hugging an emotional Hazel.<br/>„He´s happy this way. And I am, too. This is the right decision.“ Will nodded as if tried to justify the statement to himself rather than Percy. He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked down to see Annabeth, her face following Nicos movements.<br/>„It is, look at him he´s bursting with energy. This University will do him good and you aren´t so bad off either what did I hear about a possible acceptance by John Hopkins? Are you planning to become a world famous doctor?“ She smiled up at him. <br/>Annabeth and him have grown very close over the past few years. Will enjoyed spending time with her, the daughter of Athena turned out to be just as funny as she is smart and introduced a welcome change to his sometimes depressing days. She knew how to get him out of his head which he was grateful for on the days that Nico could not be there for him.<br/>„Oh you know I send in the application and got invited for an interview, let´s see where I´ll end up.“</p><p>She squeezed his shoulder and let got turning her attention to Percy who was cranking his head to get a better look at Nico. Will chuckled.<br/>„If you want to talk to him you can just walk over. You know how these two are once they start talking, they can go on for days.“<br/>„Huh, I think Frank is working on seperating them right now. Let´s try our luck. Come on.“ He pulled Annabeth and him into Nicos direction.</p><p>„I really don´t want to end this touching sibling moment but my favourite cousin is leaving the country and I don´t know how I´ll cope.“ Percy waltzed the last few feet over to Nico and wrapped him up in a hug. Nico tensed up for a moment before leaning into the hug and wrapping his arms around the son of Poseidon.<br/>„Are you crying, Percy?“ Nico let got and raised his head to look at Percy who had teartracks on his face. <br/>„I tried not to cry but when I look at you I´m just so happy. Just knowing how far you´ve come and that you´re taking your life into your own hands. I mean, dude, you´re about to study law in Italy. How cool is that?“ Nico grinned. <br/>Just then an annoucment came up that Nicos plane was boarding. He grabbed his luggage struggling to not loose half of it along the way and quickly turned to Will</p><p>„Shit, I´ll be late but I still haven´t properly said goodbye to you.“<br/>„We´ve been saying goodbye since yesterday evening,“ Will smiled genuinley but his heart constricted painfully, “I will miss you so much, death boy. IM us once you landed safely, alright? Jason will monitor your plane so that nothing happens along the way and in case something does-“ Will was stopped momentarily. Nico kissed him. Not passionatley, not full of sorrow, it was a chaste and soft kiss, one full of promise. Will turned his attention from Nicos lips to his eyes and saw tears forming, threatening to spill.<br/>„I love you, tesoro. I´m already missing you.“ </p><p>Nico kissed him one last time and pulled his luggage through the doors of the airport. Will barely managed to whisper his I love you but he knew that it reached Nico. <br/>He stayed like that for a few minutes. Just staring at the doors of the airport which were opening and closing everytime somebody entered or left. It was a busy day, the sun was shining, businessmen were aggressivly pulling their baggage along with them, he could hear people yelling in different languages but all he could concentrate on was how his last kiss with Nico felt. So wonderfully different to the kisses they shared last night. </p><p>Suddenly a hand shot up and started moving up and down in front of his face.<br/>„Earth to Solace. You still alive?“ It was Jason. He tugged at Wills hand and pulled him back to the crowd of people that bid Nico goodbye. In the midst of the crowd stood Hazel with a huge grin on her face. She turned to Will and looked at him expectantly. <br/>„We decided to commemorate Nicos new chapter in life with a visit to McDonalds! Are you coming, too?“ <br/>„Who doesn´t love the fantastic flavour of oil with hamburger flavour and a sip of cancer. Of course I´m coming.“ He laughed. As long as he had his friends he could survive Nico being hundreds of miles away from him. At least that´s what he thought. <br/>Oh boy, he had no idea what the fates had in store for them.</p>
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<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 4</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Nico and Fabio have a heart to heart.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ok wow. Thank you guys so much for over 200 hits and 10 kudos!<br/>Things have been crazy at my place and I'm kind of loosing inspiration for this story, maybe you guys have some ideas as to how the story could continue? I would love to hear your thoughts!</p><p>We might have a case of Corona in my immediate family and I'm very worried on top of that my graduation exam dates are being changed daily and I feel like I'm under so much stress I could burst. I wish this nightmare would end soon.</p><p>Anyway I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and please leave some feedback!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nico left for Italy four years ago, keeping his promise of visiting Will and his friends in America via the help of shadowtravel.<br/>In the meantime he studied hard for every test and exam, becoming a lawyer was hard especially since his competitors were exceptionally good but this only motivated him to work harder. <br/>The constant change of the political landscape in Italy served as a stark reminder of why he´s pursuing law. He always had a knack for diplomatic missions, being able to persuade his father to join the fight against the giants, keeping peace between the Greek and Roman camp, keeping close contact with representatives of other deities. Needless to say it seemed as if Nico was born into the role of a diplomat which is why he thought a career in law would bring him closest to bhs goal of uniting the various panthenons and this way preventing large conflicts in the future.<br/>Creating alliances to fight off evil was also a welcome bonus.</p><p>With this thought in mind Nico re-opened his textbook and tried to make sense of the situation being portayed and while he sat and stared at the textbook he wondered why his professor thought it was necessary to give him so much work with a deadline on friday. <br/>He checked his phone, it was Wednesday. <br/>Nico cursed his professor knowing fully well that he gave them the work with enough time to finish before the deadline but being a student and a demigod with ADHD Nico ignored the work until he couldn´t anymore. <br/>Which is why he sat on the floor surrounded by a million textbooks and textmarkers on a Wednesday night at 3am trying not to cry out of frustration. <br/>Stupid global pandemic, stupid professor and stupid law degree. He thought as he closed his book with a resigned groan and laid down on the floor staring at his ceiling hoping it would give him the answers to the universe or at least to question 7c in the textbook. <br/>After an hour of staring and still no answers Nicos stomach growled. He decided that he can´t work while he´s hungry which is why Fabio found him at 4 am making Ramen with his blanket draped over him like a cape.</p><p>„Time is just a manmade concept to you, huh?“ Surprised Nico turned around and immediately shut his eyes at the sight before him.<br/>„And clothes are just a manmade concept to you? Warn a guy sheesh.“ <br/>Fabio stood there, in all of his naked glory clearly not being bothered with his own nudity. He casually walked to the kitchen table grabbing an apple before sitting down and allowing Nico to open his eyes again.</p><p>„You know for a gay guy you´re awfully stressed when you´re in front of a naked guy.“ </p><p>Fabio pondered, he stroked his chin trying to look philosophical but failing. It remided Nico more of Izma from Kuzco trying to look diabolical scratching the three long chinhairs she has. Nico shook his head. His ADHD surprised him everyday with what new and terrifying way he´ll disturb him or maybe he was always this deranged and he just liked to blame it on the ADHD? </p><p>„There´s only one person I would like to see naked to be honest and it´s not you.“</p><p>Nico turned away hiding his flushed face as he finished preparing his Ramen and put it down opposite of Fabio. <br/>He grabbed a fork and began tapping his fingertips against the table while he ate.</p><p>Nico had yet to tell Gio and Fabio about Wills plan to come to Italy. Neither of them would be against him coming over he was sure of that, they loved talking to Will when he skyped and they knew about their relationship so that shouldn´t be a problem either. Then why was he so apprehensive telling them about it? Nico wanted Will to meet Gio and Fabio. They are a big part of his life now but he wanted it to be under different circumstances, he realized.<br/>They were supposed to be normal college roomates meeting a boyfriend not pandemic fighting med students. <br/>Would Will even fit into Italy? How was he supposed to take care of patients if he didn´t even speak the language? Nico s mind raced a hundred miles an hour. He didn´t even know if Will will get accepted. Even though the chances are very high right now and Will was an excellent student with a great medical background and good connections-</p><p>In that moment something snapped in front of him and Nico realized he stopped eating and stared blankly at his noodle filled fork. Completely ignoring anything that Fabio said.<br/>„What?“ He mumbled out. Fabio was snapping his fingers in front of Nicos face trying to catch his attention.</p><p>„Dude, you spaced out. I asked what has gotten you so worked up? You were on edge ever since your talk with Will. Is everything alright? Did you guys have a fight?“ Fabio looked worriedly at Nico. Damnit, he thought he concealed his anxiety over the situation quite well.</p><p>„No its not that. I actually wanted to talk to both of you but I guess I´ll tell you first,“ Nico pulled his legs onto the chair and sat crosslegged with his bowl of Ramen in hand.<br/>„Basically, you know of the aid programms the Americans are conducting to help us, right?“ Fabio nodded leaning back on his chair, head raised signalling Nico to go on.</p><p>„Well, they´re, kind of, expanding the programme I guess and sending medical health workers along with the face masks and desinfectants. And the doctor with whom Will is working right now suggested him to be sent to Italy to help and since I live here the chance of Will coming over are pretty good actually. The medical staff is supposed to live in hotels but Will said that not all will find a room in the beginning which is why IF Will gets accepted he might live with us for some time. Only If you´re ok with that, though. And yeah that´s kind of it. “ <br/>Nico scrunched up his face he knew he was rambling and didn´t want to look into Fabios eyes. He wasn´t sure what he was afraid of but something was telling him that he overstepped some kind of boundary.</p><p>„That´s it? Your boyfriend might spend a few weeks with us and you look like you´re about to burst out crying.“ Nico opened his eyes in shock. Fabio smiled at him but he looked to be in disbelief at Nicos worry.<br/>„Seriously man, what are you worried about? Will seems great and your bed is big enough to fit the both of you. <br/>If not Gio still has an inflatable mattress somewhere. Did you seriously think we would say no?“ <br/>Nico gaped like a fish. He tried to speak but no words came out. Truly, what was he so worried about? <br/>Gio and Fabio have been nothing but supportive of his and Wills relationship ever since he came out and introduced them to Will. He was overthinking everything once again.</p><p>„You´re right, I´m not even sure why I thought you´d be against it. I`m sorry I just get negative things stuck in my head I guess.“ Nico scratched the back of his head. He really had to stop thinking of the worst possible outcome everytime something messed up his routine. Most of the time people don´t care anyway. Fabio stood up and walked over to grab Nico by his shoulders staring intently into his eyes as if his eyes would reveal the source of his insecurities and self-doubt.</p><p>„Tell Will, that we´re thrilled to welcome him in Italy and if he needs a recommendation letter or something I can gladly pull some strings. I can´t wait to meet him in person. I´m sure he will be a great help in the hospital.“ With that Fabio winked and swiftly left the room leaving an overwhelmed son of Hades behind. </p><p>Nico stared at his empty ramen bowl hoping it could give him some answers on what to do next but the bowl was stubborn and stayed silent. He sighed and debated on whether or not he should clean up now or deal with Gios tantrum about leaving dirty dishes everywhere tomorrow. He decided on the latter. It was too late now anyway and the possiblity of waking Gio up and dealing with the monster which he turned into when his sleep was distrubed, was much more imaginable and dangerous than dirty dishes. He grabbed a glass of water and walked back into his room with boosted self-confidence. Nico could only hope that Will would get the open position in the aid programme.</p>
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<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 5</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ok wow, I finally finished this chapter. Things are still pretty chaotic. They opened up schools again and Corona cases are rising, who would have thought. Anyway, final exams are coming up so don't expect to hear from me regularly, though I´ll try to update this upcoming month. Writing this really helps destress.<br/>I hope you all stay healthy!<br/>Thank you for the Kudos, comments and subscriptions. Please leave more if you enjoy this story!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nico woke up with a start breathing heavily. His eyes roamed the dark room trying to figure out what woke him up when he recognized the familiar sound of an incoming Skype call. It was Will. Why was he calling him at-, Nico checked his phone, at 4:37 am.<br/>Didn´t he know that Nico needed his sleep or else he´d walk around grumpier than usual.<br/>He opened his laptop and glared at the bright light of his display.</p><p>„You better be dying for you to call me at 5 am!“ His voice was hoarse and eyes squinted which ruined his evil approach as he realized he looked ridiculous.<br/>„Morning to you too, darling.“ Wills characteristical blinding white smile did little to calm Nicos rage at being woken up this early.</p><p>„I´m sorry I woke you up but I just couldn´t wait. Look!“ Nico opened his eyes once again trying to figure out what Will was trying to show him through his shaky camera. It was a small blue book or at least that was what he was able to recognize from the pixelated picture. </p><p>„Is that a passport?“ Nico yawned. What the hell was Will doing with a passport. Groggily he let his eyes fall shut again trying to return to sleep when suddenly-</p><p>„A passport! Does that mean you got in?“ He shot up from his bed eyes shot wide open as he clutched his laptop expectantly.</p><p>„Yupp. Got the verification email today. We´re leaving in about an hour.“ Wills gummy smiled appeared through the camera and lit up the entire room or so Nico thought as a similar smile spread across his face.</p><p>„Wait, you´re leaving already? When will you arrive?“ He bounced his leg anxiously causing the laptop to shake. He tried to do the maths and remember how long his flight was from America to Italy but his head was still too fuzzy from being woken up so suddenly.</p><p>„Well, my ticket says around 5pm your time. There is supposed to be a briefing right after landing at the hospital where I will work at so you can pick me up from there at around 6.30pm.“ </p><p>Nico saw how Will scrunched up his nose as he tried to decipher his own handwriting on the notepad he always carried around. It was probably all messy and almost unintelligible unless you´re Will Solace and an ongoing doctor.</p><p>„You only gave me one day to prepare and clean up? Do you know how messy my room is? Let alone this apartment?“ Nico raised his voice slightly realizing that Will will be in Italy in a matter of hours. He faintly registered somebody yelling at him to shut up but he quickly shifted his focus back to Will who started laughing at Nicos legitimate concern.</p><p>„Darling, I lived with you in the Hades cabin long enough to know that you absolutely suck at cleaning up after you. I think I can handle a little dirt.“ </p><p>„A little dirt?,“ Nico raised an eyebrow,“ Tesoro, I´m pretty sure you can develope penicillin in our kitchen sink. I live with two Italian guys, not even the Hermes cabin can come close to this controlled chaos.“ </p><p>Will let out a genuine laugh and Nico felt like his heart might explode. He´s actually going to see this madman soon. Maybe Apollo took pity on him and tried to make up for having to close the Mist borders across the world effectively cutting him off from his boyfriend.<br/> Olympus decided on this drastic route so that no demigods will travel and spread the virus because as it turns out not every pandemic has to be caused by a greek god. <br/>Nico faintly recalls Annabeth complaining to him about her cousin who´s a Nordic demigod and him getting into as much trouble as her and Percy. Maybe it could be a Nordic god or maybe even an Egyptian one? No wait, the Egyptian gods have been banished right? Nico wracked his head trying to remember what his father told him about the Ancient Egyptian panthenon but he was too sleep deprived to remember. Wait, what was  he even talking about?</p><p>„Well, I think I can manage as long as I´m with you.“ Nico flushed. Damn him and his brilliant smile and perfect looks and his way with words-</p><p>He was getting sidetracked again. Nico knows that he should probably ask Will more questions but he was just too tired to think clearly and instead opted to sit in front of the laptop with his eyes and mouth slightly open. Sleeping while looking mildly awake was a tactic he learned quickly once he entered Uni, along with all the other students who shared his classes. There´s just something about a mutual nap during class that really brings people together, he realized.<br/>„Well, I think I´m going to let you sleep a little longer. I´ll text you once I land, alright? I love you.“ And with that the call ended and Nico barely managed to close his laptop before he dove head first into his pillow.</p><p> </p><p>There was a loud screech and what sounded like multiple pots falling onto the floor, and then he heard the unmistakable cursing of Gio. What is he doing. Nico groaned as he swung his legs off the bed and stumbled into their kitchen rubbing the sleep from his eyes.</p><p>„Just what in the everloving fuck do you thing you´re doing?“ Nico tried to sound angry as he came face to face with the culprit who woke him up, but it came out as irritated mumbling. He still did his best to give Gio his fiercest `I´m-angry-that-you-woke-me-up` face.</p><p>„Good morning to you too, old man.“ Grumbled Gio. His brown hair stood off into all directions defying gravity. He had dark bags beneath his eyes and Nico recognized the old Slayer T-shirt Gio has been wearing for the past 5 days straight. All around him lay pots and pans and baking treys as well an egg carton with its remants spilled onto the floor. To sum it up their kitchen looked like a mess. </p><p>Realizing that Gio is not in the mood for their usual bickering Nico bent down and started putting all of their pots onto the kitchen table in an effort to clean up. He didn´t look up as he took away the lid that Gio has been clutching desperately and put it onto a random pan that didn´t fit.</p><p>„Do you want to tell me what happened?“ He tried to sound nonchalant as he whiped off the eggs but he still sounded worried and confused, completely failing at his attempt to be casual. This behaviour wasn´t unusual but normally it was Nico failing miserably at lifes tasks, not Gio.</p><p>Gio started fidgeting with his fingers, pulling at his joints to make them crack. It was a nervous habit that Gio picked up from Nico ever since they started living together. He slowly lifted his head that was previously fixated on his bare feet.</p><p>„I- I heard your conversation with Will this morning and wanted to bake this cake that my mom always used to make when guests came over. But I need this really specific baking form and I just can´t find it.“ Gios hands where pulling at his hair in frustration. He let out a loud sigh and looked at Nico.</p><p>„I don´t think I understand. Did you try to bake a cake for Will?“ Nicos nose scrunched up in confusion as he looked at the younger Italian.</p><p>„Yeah, it´s just. This will be his first time in Italy and the situation is already bad enough and I guess I just wanted your boyfriend to feel welcomed. I mean I know I made everything messier than it was I promise I´ll clean up.“ Nico stopped whiping the eggs from the floor and stared at Gio with an unreasonable expression before he burst out laughing. He tried to steady himslef from his kneeling position by holding onto the floor but heis hand slipped away as it touched the remaining eggs, prompting him to fall face first into even more eggs. At this point he was laughing so hard he held onto Gios pants as to not slip up again.</p><p>„Talk about scrambled eggs more like scrambled mess.“ Gio finally joined him in his uncontrollable laughing fit and bend down to the floor. They stayed like this for some time, both sitting on the floor surrounded by kitchen utensils and broken egg shells with the inside of said eggs sticking to Nicos shirt. They made no move to get up and continue cleaning as they calmed down from their laughter. Instead they opted to stay on the ground letting out the occasional snicker and throwing egg shells at one another. And thats how Fabio found them, sitting on the kitchen floor with pieces of egg shells stuck to them and theeir kicthen cabinets.</p><p>He expertly made his way to the kitchen table, dodging pots and pans. He put a heavy looking grocery bag on their crowded kitchen table and sighed as he looked at his roommates.</p><p>„Egg suits you Nico. You should wear it more often,“ he winked. A small smile appearing on Nicos lips. “I thought we were planning to clean up before Will came. I mean this works, too. At least there won´t be any false expectations as to our cleaning abilities.“ Nico reached out his hand so Fabio could help him up.</p><p>„How about we all quickly clean up after which I´ll take a shower and we can then try to bake this cake of yours, Gio?“ Said man looked up at his two roommates before he nodded in agreement.</p><p>„Sure, why not. Let´s do it.“ </p><p>Now, Nico loved watching kitschy coming-off-age movies where the main friend squad all help each other clean up in a well sequenced montage with an up-beat genric pop song playing in the background, but this wasn´t one of these movies and instead of things getting cleaner they someehow made an even bigger mess as they startd pulling out long lost stuff from the weirdest places in their apartment. There was a brand new pink Nintendo DS that Fabios niece lost some time ago behind their TV stand, three jars of half empty Nutella hid inside a sock drawer and to Nicos horror, an opened condom stuffed between the couch cushions. Needless to say, it felt like a miracle when they did finish cleaning up and their place looked inhabitable. Nico wanted to throw himself onto the couch out of exhaustion but stopped himself as he remembered the condom.</p><p>„Okay, guys, it´s 4pm if we hurry up we can still make this cake before Will shows up.“ Gio said as he came out of his shared bedroom. Nico silently regretted agreeing to the cake but he couldn´t say no now. That´s why he made his way to the kitchen trying to gather all the ingredients in his arms as Gio listed them up. Fabio finally found the baking form that Gio was searching for in the morning and the boys got to work. </p><p>At 6pm the monstrosity of a cake finally cooled down enough for them to try and decorate it at which they failed miserably but Nico didn´t care. Their apartment looked nearly spotless, the cake was finished and his two roommates were now arguing over who could accompany Nico to pick up Will. So Nico decided to help them with their decision by quickly grabbing his keys and leaving their apartment. He sighed as he got into his car, finally alone. With a deep breath he turned his keys and made his way to the highway driving towards the hospital. Finally, he was going to see Will again. His heart was doing an extensive gymnast routine inside his chest at the mere thought of the son of Apollo. Nico was whipped he realized as he caught his reflection in the car mirrors. His hair was slightly dishelved, a bit of flour was stuck on his shoulder and yet he had the biggest most genuine smile on his face in a while. This boy owned his entire heart, Nico realized.</p><p>A sign with the hospitals name popped up and Nico could see his hands tremble against the steering wheel. A few more minutes and he´d be there. He was finally going to see Will.</p>
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<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 6</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I´m sorry for the delay but I have my bio final on Tuesday and I'm just so overwhelmed with everything. I can't believe I'm graduating soon. This entire month will be filled with final exams so I probably won't update as often. Sorry in advance.</p><p>Thank you so much for your amazing support. The kudos and comments really keep me going</p><p>Stay healthy and enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Nico sat in the waiting area that the receptionist pointed him to. It was already 6.45 pm but a time delay wasn´t unusual to italian standards. <br/>The receptionist told him that the medical staff still had a few things left to discuss and that they´ll be out soon. So Nico decided to make himself comfortable in the empty waiting area as nobody else seemed to be there. <br/>The receptionist was one door away and the TV in the room has been turned off. A few paper magazines laid on the table in front of Nico but he wasn´t  about to wreck his brain for week old gossip. </p><p>Thankfully they did have free wifi which Nico decided to take full advantage of and read up on some actual news. He couldn´t help but feel mixed emotions as he read about his country planning to lower restrictions. On the one hand he couldn´t wait to get out of the house and do anything at all, but on the other hand he worried that when everyone leaves their house to spend some time outside the infection rates will soar once again. </p><p>Not for the first time he was glad to not have to be a politician in this country. Lord knows these Italians have no idea what they want most of the time anyway. </p><p>This is boring, he thought as he sank lower into the stool. He looked up trying to find something that would capture his attention but was only greeted by boring grey ceiling tiles. <br/>Maybe if he could hit the tile strong enough it would break apart and Nico could climp onto the table and see what lies behind the ceiling. <br/>Dust, probably but he might get surprised. Just as he started looking around for something that might be hard enough to break a tile a commotion broke out and Nico could hear the unmistakable sound of Americans talking. <br/>They really were the loudest nation on earth. </p><p>He pulled himself up from his sitting position and walked towards where the ruckus came from. A huge wooden door stood in front of him and the sound of bags scraping against the floor could be heard behind it. The medical staff must have started unpacking supplies. He could help them with that. <br/>The doors opened easily and once Nico stepped into the room everyone became silent. Nico smiled nervously as he scratched the back of his head.</p><p>„Ciao,“ he waved awkwardly,“ I´m looking for Will Solace?“ His plan of helping unpack where quickly thrown overboard as he realized he´d have to talk to a bunch of strangers, because Americans love pointless small talk and Nico is not about that life. Thank you very much. He´ll  stick to politely dissapearing.</p><p>A fairly well build man in his mid fourties stood up. He was chewing on a chocolate granola bar and Nico could see he him spit when he talked. Nico cringed. Note to self: Don´t stand too close to that guy.</p><p>„I believe he went over there to bother the receptionist in Italian.“ The man pointed with his granola  bar to the entrance of the building where Nico could see the receptionist talking animately with someone he couldn´t make out from the angle he was standing at.<br/>Suddenly everything felt too real. With a heavily beating heart Nico made his way to the front of the building. Each step he took felt like his legs were slowly being replaced with jelly. He didn´t feel nervous about seeing Will again until now.</p><p>Quietly, as to not make a lot of noise he stepped into the entrance hall and stood still. <br/>There he was. <br/>Blonde locks sticking everywhere, hideous green crocs on his feet as well as white socks, khakis, an oversized blue hoodie and a white pillow which he hugged closely to his chest. Will was talking to the receptionist and seemed to frown as he tried to talk to the woman who only responded in panicked italian. <br/>It was clear to Nico that he had to intervene and save that woman from having to remember years of traumatizing english lessons that ultimately led her to know nothing. </p><p>„There you are, sunshine. I´ve been looking everywhere for you.“ Will turned around slowly and as he turned around Nico felt as if he was stuck in one of these unrealistic Kdramas starring at his crush. <br/>Except this was reality and he was starring at his boyfriend. </p><p>His beautiful boyfriend who smiled the biggest smile he has ever seen and let the pillow he was clutching fall to the floor. <br/>Immediately Will started running with his arms stretched out and the happiest most insane grin on the planet. He wrapped Nico up in his arms and lifted him up a bit. Nico laughed and quickly clung his arms around Wills neck pulling him even closer. <br/>Closing his eyes tightly he let himself drown in the feeling of Wills arms around him and the smell of Will that always reminded him of a forest, fresh and clean air and something so distinctivly Will that couldn´t be described. </p><p>Nico felt tears gathering in his eyes as he pulled Will tighter one more time and whispering.</p><p>„I missed you so much.“</p><p>Both boys stood like this for some time, pulling each other closer like they couldn´t believe the other was actually here.<br/>After some time passed Will started to pull back a little but still held onto Nicos waist and put his forehead against the other. His skyblue eyes shined with unshed tears and Nico could tell that the only reason he was holding back was because once he would start crying there was no telling when he would stop.</p><p>Nico wanted to say something, something at all but the words were stuck in his throat. Nothing came out the only thing he could do was stare at his boyfriend whom he had last seen face to face in January. Gods, he missed the boy in front of him so much.</p><p>„I´m finally here now.“ Will´s voice was quiet, barely above a whisper his eyes were transfixed on Nico.<br/>It´s like the world stood still. Nico felt the blood rush in his ears. He vaguely remembered the receptionist being in the same room as them and started to feel embarassed. She probably didn´t get paid enough to deal with this.</p><p>With a heavy heart he started to pull back and grabbed Wills hand. He had to touch Will in some way because that meant that he was actually there and this wasn´t just a beautiful dream. <br/>Nico swallowed heavily, his throat suddenly impossibly dry.</p><p>„Uh do you have all your things or ...“ He trailed off. English felt different now, heavy on his tongue, a little more foreign. He was aware that he knew the language but the words came slower, not as confidently as they used too. For a split second he worried that his english skills were deteriorating. Could that happen? He spent the past four years travelling back and forth between America and Italy. Can he really forget the language this quickly? Or was it Will who made him forget English?</p><p>„This is all I took. We had to make space for supplies.“ <br/>Will smiled at him, his trademark smile that made everyone around him starstruk. </p><p>The gods could argue all they wanted but to him Will was the physical embodiment of sunshine. Apollo can take a seat, nothing can come close to his son. <br/>When people looked at Apollo they squint their eyes because his light is just too bright but when they look at Will they smile contently. He always knew how to adjust as to not overwhelm people. When he got excited or passionate about something his light rivalled that of Apollo but when he got sad it got dimmer. It didn´t reach as many people anymore which is why people know when Will is in a bad mood. He feels more distant then. </p><p>Nicos friends always look at him curiously. He knows what he feels makes sense but he has a hard time explaining it. Words don´t come easily to him except when he speaks about the son of  Apollo, then they come in abundance. He´s lucky he has Percy who gets a similar reaction when he talks about Annabeth. A waterfall of praise and wonder and sheer gratitude.</p><p> </p><p>„My car is parked outside. Let´s leave now before everyone else will start to drive off.“ Will nodded as he bend down to grab his baggage but Nico was quicker. Swiftly he pulled it off the ground and started walking in the direction of his car. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Will shake his  head lightly and smile. He jogged over to Nico and slid his hand into Nicos free one and squeezed lightly.</p><p>„So,“ a mischievous smile spread on Wills lips,“these roommates of yours did you bring them along with you or are we alone for a bit?“ Nico bit his lip to hide the smirk that started appearing. How did the son of Apollo always know how to turn him on? Or was he just as desperate as Nico was. It has been months after all and they were college students with needs. <br/>Nico turned around a cool and unreadable expression on his face.</p><p>„We are not doing it in my car.“ </p><p>Will burts out laughing.</p><p>„No, seriously we are not doing it in my car. Do you know how crammd it is in there? And how awkward it would be if somebody caught us? Because that´s just disgusting but doing it in the car while your country is in lockdown due to a pandemic? That´s straightup disrespectful.“ </p><p>Nico was gesticulating heavily while he explained, a bright red flush spread across his face and Wills laughter became even louder.</p><p>„I´m sorry. I get it but your face was just hilarious.“ Nico huffed embarassed and sped up a bit, a loud cackling son of Apollo trailing behind him. </p><p>„My roommates prepared a surprise for you and they helped me clean the apartment. This never happens I have to mark this day in the calender.“ Nico spoke to Will offhandedly whiel he opened the trunk of his car playing Tetris with Wills luggage and whatever he had lying around. For a short moment he worried that the trunk won´t close but one final shove and everything stayed in place neatly.<br/>„They´re really that excited? Oh man and I only got them stupid candy.“ Nico saw Will bury his face in his hands as he sat down on the drivers seat.</p><p>„Don´t worry about that. They love sweet things and to be honest their surprise isn´t that much better either. I think they´ll be happy knowing that you thought of them.“ He gave Will a smile and saw the other relax and sink into the seat.</p><p>„Go take a nap. It´s going to take a bit to get there.“ He offered as he saw Will struggling to keep his eyes open. Stiffling a yawn Will forced his eyes comically open as if trying to prove a point to himself.</p><p>„Nope I´m fine I want to see everything. This is my first time in Italy. Tell me something.“</p><p>„You won´t really see much of the landscape because we´re going by highway.“ As Nico carefully turned his head to Will, making sure that he stays on the road while driving, he recognized a small pout on his lips.</p><p>„How about this, Will. You relax for a bit and I´ll tell you a bit about the city? The only thing you´ll see here is trees and you have those in America, too.“ </p><p>Nico felt Will sink deeper into the seat and  thought he made out a barely audible ´ok´. So he started explaining, pointing out every city that came up on the highway signs and told him whatever he knew. Sometimes it would be random facts he still remembered from school. Othertimes Nico told him about trips he took to those cities and what he saw and experienced. Glancing over to Will´s side he saw the blond sleeping silently, a serene smile on his lips. Nico mirrored the smile. He was happy to have him back.</p><p>Aftera few more minutes of driving he finally got to his exit and started following the familiar route to his apartment. He hoped the chaots didn´t destroy half the apartment while he was gone. With  this thought in mind he quickly found his parking space and stopped the car. This was goingto be fun.</p>
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<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 7</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Ok wow working on this chapter was an experience. Firstly I had absolutely no idea what to write and I was so exhausted from my exams but I sat down and started writing. Then I accidentally deleted the entire chapter and had to rewrite everything but I actually like this way more than the first chapter that I wrote. I still have three exams to write but I´m positive that it will work out in the end.<br/>Also can anybody frak out with me over PJO getting a live adaptation with Uncle Rick having a say in it?! I'm so excited! <br/>Anyway once again, thank you so much for your comments and kudos and subscriptions! <br/>Enjoy the newest chapter!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Will heard the car engine being turned off and a hand started shaking him awake. When did he fall asleep? He tried to remember what had happened in the past 24 hours.<br/>
Survival training in Camp Half-blood taught him to never let the enemy think you´re awake. This way you´ll be able to gather more information and think of a plan on what to do. Who is the enemy and why are they trying to wake him up so gently.<br/>
Suddenly everything came crashing down like a tidal wave and Will remembered everything. Getting the green light to fly to Italy, printing out the plane tickets, calling Nico to tell him the good news. Taking too many sleeping pills on the flight which left him groggy in the meeting after they have landed and finally seeing Nico again.</p><p>With a start he shot up from his seat but was harshly pulled back by a seatbelt which resulted in him flopping against his seat ungracefully arms and legs spread out as if he was trying to grab something in front of him.</p><p>„The fuck are you doing, Will?“ Besides Will a mildly amused voice popped up. He turned his head to the left and was greeted by his boyfriend's face, who was grinning at him an affectionate smile on his lips that made the corners of his eyes crinkle. Oh, how Will missed that smile.</p><p>„You´re here which means I´m here which means we´re in Italy.“ Wills's hands pulled at his hair in disbelief and he gave Nico a blinding smile. This was real. He was actually in Italy and the person next to him was his very own boyfriend. Nico shook his head in amusement and started taking off his seatbelt to get out of the car.</p><p>„I know that the road was bumpy but I thought that your skull was too thick to get a concussion. Apparently I was wrong.“<br/>
Nico teased him and stuck his tongue out playfully. Will only grinned back as he tried to get out of his seat once again forgetting his seatbelt and being pulled back.</p><p>„Has the radiation from the flight destroyed all of your brain cells?“</p><p>„Leave me be. I came all the way to Italy to see you and here I am getting roasted by you. I thought you loved me.“<br/>
Nico who was now standing next to Wills's open-door continued staring at Will.<br/>
The gentle smile he had when he looked at him seemed to get brighter every time he looked at him. In the gentle light of the setting sun Will thought that Nico looked ethereal.<br/>
The golden sunlight giving Nico a perfect tan and the single earring he wore on his right ear shined brightly.<br/>
Nico leaned in closer to the door and Will looked into his beautiful dark-brown eyes. People said that the son of Hades looked scary and that his eyes were soulless. Will disagreed, Nico's eyes were one of the most fascinating things on him as a person. The way the chocolate coloured eyes shined when the sunlight hit them just right took Wills breath away every time and when Will got closer he could see the specks of gold in Nico's eyes that shined every time the son of Hades looked at him.</p><p>Will was whipped and so was Nico because Will knew all the small smiles and gentle affectionate ways were only ever directed at him or Nicos sister Hazel. Nobody else saw the son of Hades the way he did. Nico didn´t allow anyone to see him at his worst or most afraid but Will. And nobody shared Nico's happiness and excitement the way he did. Sometimes Will thought Aphrodite sent him his very own Soulmate. It was insane that the happiness of another person could affect him this much. It had to be by the grace of the gods that he and Nico found each other and fell in love.</p><p>„I do love you, you know.“<br/>
The son of Hades leaned into the door and started moving around Wills's torso, seemingly reaching for something at his side. Confused he blinked for a moment. What was he doing? He felt Nico press into him his body wrapping awkwardly against him. Will put one arm below Nico's chest and another one over his back and pulled him in tighter. The hug felt awkward and Will felt Nico shake lightly before something clicked and the pressure on his chest diminished before the son of Hades burst out laughing.<br/>
Oh, the seatbelt. </p><p>Nico didn´t lean in for a hug he wanted Will to get out of the car. Due to laughing so hard Nico was practically lying on Wills lap laughing wholeheartedly.<br/>
The situation and their position looked so absurd that even Will started laughing at his genius behaviour.<br/>
There was something about Nico that made him forget he had braincells and rely on dumbassery alone. </p><p>Still snickering Nico started to pull away from Will, a few tears escaped from his eyes from laughing too hard and Will saw that the tips of his ears were red. Nico looked perfect, hair dishelved, clothes wrinkled, the sun shining beautifully on his face and a carefree smile made Nico look better than any figure Aphrodite might show herself as. In Wills's eyes there was nobody as perfectly imperfect as Nico. </p><p>„If you come with me you can do more than just stare.“<br/>
Nico winked and Will could feel his blood rush to his face. When did he become so confident?</p><p>Wil started moving every single limp at the same time trying to get out of the car as quickly as possible to take up the offer his boyfriend gave him. In record time he stood next to the car, face beet red and ready to get to the apartment quickly. </p><p>„Let me get your luggage then you can meet my roommates. They can´t wait to actually meet you.“<br/>
Wills's shoulders slumped. Right, they weren´t alone here he still had some people to meet.<br/>
Nico was wrestling with his luggage trying to keep everything else inside without spilling out all of the other stuff he kept there.<br/>
„Wait a second let me help you.“<br/>
He pushed the various bags that were inside the car trunk back inside while Nico pulled the luggage out. When they finally managed to get everything out without half of the trunk content spilling out they decided to rest in front of the car and just enjoy the other's presence. </p><p>Will decided to let his eyes wander and take in his surroundings, there were big block buildings in various colours around him. They all seemed to have been build at around the same time. There were garages build below the buildings and behind a block building Will could see a swing set. Probably a playground for the kids in the area. Overall it seemed innocent and unassuming, a normal building complex with lots of families in the area. </p><p>Will could feel arms sneak around his waist and a face pressing itself against his shoulder blades. He could feel Nico take a deep breath and pull him closer. The warmth of Nico's body felt nice now that the sun had gone down and the air became chilly.<br/>
This was nice. His mother always used to say that home wasn´t a place but a feeling and in this moment with Nico's arms wrapped around him he understood what his mother meant. The feeling he had when he was with Nico, that was home. The serenity he felt when he was around him, they didn´t even have to talk. Nico's presence alone made Will relax and be at peace. That was home. To be so comfortable around each other that words didn´t need to be said and they still understood each other perfectly.<br/>
„I think we should head inside. It´s getting colder and I think your roommates are staring at us.“ Will who was looking at the building saw that two men were glued to a window staring at them intently once they saw that Will acknowledged them they started waving their arms excitedly.<br/>
„Ugh, morons.“, Nico sighed and let go of Wills's waist,“ Take these will you?“ He pointed at the luggage lying on the floor. Nico who had already taken the biggest suitcase was standing in front of the door waiting for it to open and usher Will inside. To Wills dismay Nico lived in a building without an elevator even though they had to get climb thousand of steps, he may have slightly exagerated but studying for med school doesn´t allow you a lot of free time to exercise. Most of the time when Will does have some freetime he usually spends the time by skyping with Nico or sleeping whenever he gets the chance. So when he suddenly had to walk more than two stairs to get somewhere he was confronted with the fact that he was out of shape judging by his heavy breathing and Nico looking like nothing has happened. By the time they arrived Nico has already rung the bell and Will could hear running and screaming behind the door before there was a loud thud as if somebody ran face-first into the door.<br/>
Said door swung open and Will was greeted with a confetti cannon going off and even more yelling this time sounding like a badly done remix of English and Italian.</p><p>„Welcome, welcome. Come in you must be very tired. Here take these slippers.“ A brown-haired average looking guy with huge crocodile-shaped slippers grabbed Will by the wrist and pulled him inside where he got a face full of slippers which he put on obediently. </p><p>„Nice to finally meet you in real life. We have prepared something for you!“<br/>
Fabio, whom he knew from him barging into their Skype dates from time to time, spoke excitedly and pulled him into their kitchen. On their kitchen table was a big multicoloured lump that resembled something akin to a cake and to make it look like less of a disaster they threw on some sprinkles. </p><p>„It looks nice. Did you do it yourself?“ Gio threw his head back laughing.</p><p>„Look at you trying to be nice and not make us feel bad for baking something that doesn´t even look edible.“<br/>
Nico joined Will at his side and inspected the cake that they have previously worked on together.</p><p>„Gio the cake looked different before I left what happened?“</p><p>„Ah well you see Fabio was face timing his mom and wanted to show off the cake but then it slipped and fell to the ground so we scraped off the stuff that fell on the ground and put the rest of the cake on a plate and threw some sprinkles on it so that it would look better but I don´t think that we should eat it.“<br/>
The more Gio explained what happened the more horrified and grossed out Nico looked and even though the cake definitely looked unedible he was kind of touched by their effort and wanted to show them that he appreciated it.</p><p>„I don´t think we can eat this to be honest-“</p><p>„But I think it's great that you guys put this much work into it, right Nico? How about we take a picture and put it on Instagram? This way people will at least be able to see it and it will be a nice memory.“<br/>
Will tried to negotiate and avoid hurting the feelings of Gio and Fabio and judging from their happy faces he succeeded. He looked at Nico who had an unreadable expression on his face but whipped out his phone nonetheless.</p><p>„Nico take a selfie you need to be in the pic or people will start to believe that you died or something.“ Yelled Gio as he started to maneuver the cake-thing towards Will who took it from him gratefully trying not to do the same mistake as Fabio.</p><p>„Wouldn´t that be the dream.“ Nico replied with a deadpan expression but Will could see the glint in his eyes. </p><p>„Oh hell yeah. Living life as it was meant to be.“<br/>
Fabio and Gio chuckled which meant that this was a regular occurrence. Will felt warm inside knowing that Nico found himself friends who appreciated his humour and didn´t judge him for his sexuality.<br/>
Sometimes when Nico and he were skyping late at night Nico would say that he found himself a home in Italy. At first Will was confused by that statement but now he understood. These two boys really knew how to make him feel welcome.</p><p>They took the picture and Gio quickly added him to their WhatsApp group chat. Nico explained WhatsApp to Will since Americans mostly use iMessenger, him included. Once he got the gist of it he posted the picture to his Instagram tagging Nico, Fabio, and Gio on it. It was a messy and chaotic picture with Gio being midjump and Fabio having blinked in the wrong moment but they all looked like they were having a great time. He forwarded the picture to his mother as well and couldn´t wait to talk to her but for now he was way too tired for any more human interaction and it seemed that Nico caught onto that.<br/>
Still smiling he said Goodnight to the two roommates and followed Nico into his room. Finally, they´d be alone.</p>
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<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 8</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Here it is! The newest chapter! <br/>Like I said updates will be random since my life is kind of a mess right now but at least I´m done with my finals andI´ll get my grades tomorrow. I can't believe I´m finally done with school. That´s crazy. <br/>Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, and thank you so much for reading, commenting and liking this story have some fluff!</p><p>Comments and likes would be greatly appreciated!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Will shuffled awkwardly once he got into Nico's room. It was small, smaller than the Hades cabin but that was expected. Nico didn´t turn the light on but there was a desk lamp opposite the bed that illuminated the room enough for the both of them to navigate around the room effortlessly. <br/>The son of Hades preferred darkness unironically so Will wasn´t expecting anything else anyway.<br/>The bed that was squeezed into the corner of the room looked as if someone has been laying in it for the entire day and judging from the way Nico's hair looked when Will first saw him at the airport Will had a pretty good guess what Nico has been doing the entire day.</p><p>„You can unpack your stuff and put it here. I cleared these shelves for you. If they´re not enough you can put your stuff onto mine. I don´t mind.“ Nico opened the wood closet and showed him two empty shelves at the top. The bottom three had clothes thrown hastily into them while others looked neatly folded. Nico probably waited until the very last moment to clean his own room.</p><p>„Thanks. So did you just finish cleaning?“ </p><p>Will knew that he caught Nico who was trying to discreetly push some clothes under his bed with his food. <br/>Sheepishly Nico smiled and continued fighting with the mess under his bed. </p><p>Will realized that he hasn´t been in the same room with his boyfriend for over four months and he felt unsure of what to do. Act awkwardly and observe him or just do what he has been daydreaming about for the past few months? <br/>Will decided on the latter as he walked up to Nico who still tried to kick some clothes under the bed and wrapped his arms around Nico's waist from behind. Pulling him close and breathing in his scent as if he was breathing in fresh air for the first time. He never really understood when his girl friends would walk around wearing their boyfriend's clothes saying that they enjoyed it because it smelled like them but ever since he and Nico began dating Will finally understood why. <br/>Nico was familiar, comforting, loving, and wearing his clothes that smelled like him made Will feel closer to the son of Hades even though there was an entire ocean keeping them apart. </p><p>„Gods, I missed you.“ Sighed Nico as he let himself lean into Will and tilt his head to the side so Will could cuddle closer.</p><p>„I missed you more.“</p><p>„Oh yeah,“ Nico turned around swiftly so that he was face to face with Will a mischievous glint in his eyes,“ Prove it.“</p><p>Two words from Nico and Will felt like he was set on fire. The burning desire to have the son of Hades as humanly close as possible was set ablaze once again and Will could feel the control over his body slip away. He now knew why Aphrodite was the most dangerous Olympian of them all. <br/>No one, not even Dionysus could make a human lose their mind and start a war over the honour of another person. <br/>No one but Aphrodite. <br/>She could make a man go mad with a single heartbreak, yearn for a love they can never experience eventually making them fall into a deep depression that no one can make them come out of again. When it came to playing with the human mind and bending it to their will the Olympians realized early that they needed to tap into Aphrodites domain and with that, the world's most well known and notorious myths and wars came to be.</p><p>Love made people do crazy things and thinking back to the wars that were started out of love Will realized that he would not hesitate to do the same for Nico. The son of Hades occupied his mind day and night and if Dionysus would take a closer look he would pronounce the son of the Sun positively insane. Nobody compared to the man in his arms. Awestruck Will leaned into his boyfriend the tip of his nose bumping against Nico's cheek before his lips hovered over Nicos. This wasn´t the first time the son of Hades took his breath away but due to some miracle, a whisper escaped him.</p><p>„You do things to me I can´t even describe.“ Will could feel the smirk on Nico's lips before he kissed him. Nico turned them around so that Will's back was facing the bed and with a small push from the Italian Will was being straddled on the bed and the innocent kiss from before started to feel less and less innocent. <br/>Will´s hands wandered up from Nico's waist to scratch at his back and feel the muscles hiding below the shirt. </p><p>It seems like Nico used the pandemic more productively than Will. The shirt that Nico was wearing was more filled out than a few months ago and when Nico had leaned into Will in the car to unbuckle his seat his biceps flexed which made the son of Apollo swoon just thinking about it now.</p><p>He prided himself in the fact that his boyfriend was incredibly good looking and his co-workers knew about every single photoshoot the Italian took part in. <br/>They probably stopped listening to him months after he started helping out in the hospital but he does remember the odd magazine in Italian lying in the nurse's station that featured his boyfriend shirtless on the cover.</p><p>Nico himself had his hands running up and down Wills's stomach where his abs used to be. Due to working day and night, he didn´t have to time to work out and keep his toned body looking the same.  Eating junk food more often because he didn´t have the energy to cook once he got home added to that problem as well. <br/>Suddenly Will didn´t feel so comfortable anymore he could feel Nico's abs through his shirt and he realized that even though he couldn´t see them they were much more defined than the last time he saw Nico in person. In comparison to the way, Nico looked Will thought he himself was lacking. </p><p>Feeling the sudden change in atmosphere Nico stopped kissing Will and looked at him questioningly. From Will's position, Nico's hair fell around his face framing it in the most perfect way, and the moon that came up and illuminated the dark room reflected in Nico's dark eyes. <br/>Starstruck Will put his hands against Nico's cheek and stroked with his thumb the outline of Nico's cheekbone. A small smile started to appear on Nico's face as he watched Wills awestruck expression.</p><p>„A penny for your thoughts?“ <br/>Nico rolled off Will's waist and laid down next to him so that Will was stuck between the wall and his boyfriend. Trying to get more time before he would answer Will made a show of turning around to lie down facing Nico who only rolled his eyes exasperated.</p><p>„I can tell that you took advantage of the lockdown.“ Will glanced at where he knew Nico's abs hid below the T-shirt before meeting the piercing stare of his boyfriend. Nico's mouth opened he seemed to immediately want to retaliate but he stopped before putting his hand on Will's chest right above his heart. </p><p>„You know I love you right? Everything about you? And I didn´t fall in love with you for your body and I know for a fact you didn´t fall in love with me for my body either because let´s face it I was the skinniest white boy of the camp and very unappealing to look at.“, Will snorted at that and stared at Nico the tense expression leaving his face and being replaced with content and happiness as he remembered the son of Hades and the way he looked when Will first realized he was falling for him. A paper-thin, ghostly-pale boy with the stubbornness and temperament of a true Italian. Smiling at the image in his head he let Nico continue.</p><p>„You are this bright, intelligent person who is filled to the brim with kindness. Thanks to your patience I started getting better. I ate. I went outside. I interacted with people in Camp for the first time in years and every time things became too much you stepped in and got me somewhere more comfortable. <br/>The reason I am the way I am is because of you. And I didn´t fall in love with you because of your abs which, might I add, I was only allowed to see once we were 18, but because you understood me. And you were patient and loving and kind and oh so smart. <br/>Seeing you out there talking your medical talk and saving lives is the biggest turn on ever. Trust me. I love my hot doctor boyfriend and if you let me I´ll help you love yourself as well.“ </p><p>Nico was now half lying on Will's chest staring deep into his eyes as if he was searching for his soul and as Nico was talking a flood of emotions released all the memories from when they first started hanging out. Will was scared but determined to show the son of Hades that he is loved and accepted at Camp he thought he must have been blessed by all the Gods of Love to have Nico fall in love with him in the process.</p><p>„I-...I am speechless.“ Will starred at Nico trying to form a coherent sentence but nothing he could say would adequately show his feelings.</p><p>„The Healer of Camp Half-Blood speechless because of me. That´s something new.“ <br/>Nico had his chin on Will's chest while at the same time twirling his blonde hair with his fingers.</p><p>„You know you´re the only one who can make me speechless.“ At this Nico`s smile grew wider and he raised his head to plant a determined kiss on Will's lips.</p><p>„Thank you for saying this. I think all these negative news have been getting to me lately.“ </p><p>A sigh escaped his lips and he turned his head to stare at the ceiling. Whenever he turned the news on lately it was the same topic all the time and even though scientists were offering help on every platform available world leaders seemed to stop listening to science and have instead started listening to the economy. What was he thinking they have never stopped listening to the economy.</p><p>„For you always. Wanna go to bed then? The news in Italy isn´t any better.“ </p><p>Will was massaging the back of Nico's head it always made the other sleepy and yawn excessively. Normally Nico would complain and try to half-heartedly stop him but this time he just let it happen. Will must look pretty rough and exhausted if that's the case but he´ll relish in the moment considering how the son of Hades won´t let him do this anytime soon again.</p><p>„We´re already in bed.“</p><p>„Ugh, you know what I mean. Come on up. Let me show you the bathroom so you can shower.“ Nico pushed himself off the bed and dragged a semi-enthusiastic Will along with him. Grumbling Will reached for his suitcase digging through the multi-coloured clothing until he found what he was looking for. New underwear and his shampoo bottle as well as a toothbrush. He hoped he could get away with using Nico's toothpaste since he forgot to bring his own.</p><p>„Are you saying I stink?“</p><p>„I´m saying you reek!“ Will threw a random shirt at Nico who pulled a face and pretended to choke.</p><p>„You wound me, death boy.“</p><p>„I told you to stop calling me that! Now come it´s a bit complicated. Sometimes we don´t have warm water sometimes we don´t have cold water either. So  basically we´re playing Russian roulette and hope that there is water for all of us.“ The shirt was thrown back with as much ferocity as before. Will groaned at Nico's explanation. He knew too well what it´s like to not get warm water or any water at all for showering. Since his cabin is rather big it has always been a game of who can get to the shower stalls the fastest, but because Will was constantly working in the infirmary he was usually the last person to shower at camp and he could indulge in the wonderful feeling of ice-cold water.</p><p>„Alright, lead me.“ Will took Nico's outstretched hand and followed him obediently as he started to explain the shower settings to him. To think that a few hours ago he was in America dreaming of this reunion and now he was here and the boy who owned his heart would be sleeping next to him once again. Maybe life wasn´t so bad after all.</p><p>„Are you even listening to me?“</p><p>„Of course!“</p><p>„No, you haven´t you have this stupid grin on your face again. Why do I even bother with you.“ In mock exasperation, Nico threw his hands in the air.</p><p>„This stupid grin is only reserved for you, darling.“ His hands moved around Nico's waist who walked the last few steps to the bathroom dragging the son of Apollo inelegantly behind him.</p><p>„Flirting won´t get you out of this. One last time when you turn it to the left you have to...“ Will was trying to listen but his brain couldn´t process any words coming out of his boyfriend's mouth. Too stunned was he by his beauty in the shabby bathroom with dirty yellow lightning. Only a  Supermodel can look this good in a shithole (literally!) and he was the lucky guy who could call himself the boyfriend of the sexiest man alive. The fates seemed to bless him and he didn´t want to complain. He didn´t have a reason too.</p><p>„So, did you get it?“</p><p>„Yepp, see you in a bit.“ Confidently he walked into the bathroom not knowing he will have to sheepishly call his boyfriend 20 minutes later because he thought he broke the shower. <br/>He should have been listening more closely but alas beauty is to be admired.</p>
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